Roman Catholic Diocese of Antipolo

The Diocese of Antipolo (Latin: Dioecesis Antipolensis, Filipino: Diyosesis ng Antipolo, Spanish: Diócesis de Antipolo) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines that comprises the Province of Rizal and the city of Marikina in Metro Manila.

Diocese of Antipolo Dioecesis Antipolensis Diyosesis ng Antipolo Diócesis de Antipolo
Catholic
Antipolo Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country	Philippines
Territory	Rizal Marikina City
Ecclesiastical province	Manila
Metropolitan	Manila
Coordinates	14.5876°N 121.1770°E / 14.5876; 121.1770
Statistics
Area	1,828 km2 (706 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2021) 3,728,586 3,026,699 (81.2%)
Parishes	73 (9 shrines, 2 quasi-parishes, and 1 minor basilica)
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	June 25, 1983 (1983-06-25)
Cathedral	Cathedral-Parish of the Immaculate Conception — International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage
Patron saint	Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage
Secular priests	95
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Ruperto Santos
Metropolitan Archbishop	Jose Advincula
Bishops emeritus	Crisostomo Yalung Gabriel Villaruz Reyes Francisco Mendoza de Leon
Website
Diocese of Antipolo

At present, the Diocese of Antipolo is considered to be one of the largest local churches in the Philippines in terms of its Catholic population. Among the 86 ecclesiastical jurisdictions present in the Philippines today, the diocese is the third largest local church in terms of its Catholic population after the Archdiocese of Cebu, and the Diocese of Malolos (Bulacan and Valenzuela City). The population of the whole area covering the diocese is 3,650,000, of which 3,280,000 (or 90%) are Catholics. The seat or center of the diocese is the Antipolo Cathedral, one of the most popular Marian shrines in the country where the historic Canonically crowned image of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage (Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje) (the Virgin of Antipolo) is enshrined.

History

On January 24, 1983, during his Angelus message, Pope John Paul II announced the creation of the Diocese of Antipolo, which would encompass the whole province of Rizal, the entire Marikina, and part of Pasig (Barangays Dela Paz, Santolan, Manggahan, Rosario, and Santa Lucia, which altogether formed the Vicariate of Santo Tomas de Villanueva, now belonging to the Diocese of Pasig). It is an area that was previously known in the Archdiocese of Manila as the Ecclesiastical District of Eastern Rizal. A suffragan of the said archdiocese, the diocese was canonically established on June 25, 1983.

The first bishop of Antipolo was Protacio G. Gungon. On December 3, 2001, he was succeeded by Crisostomo Yalung as the second bishop, followed by Gabriel V. Reyes, former Bishop of Kalibo in Aklan, as the third bishop. Bishop Reyes was assisted by the then-auxiliary and later coadjutor bishop, Francisco M. De Leon, who was named his successor and fourth bishop effective September 10, 2016.

The diocese had its First Diocesan Synod in 1993 held at Saint Michael's Retreat House in Antipolo City. The diocese has experienced some jurisdictional changes since the time the Diocese of Pasig was created, whereby six parishes within the civil boundaries of Pasig were given to the new local church, together with seven diocesan priests serving in them.

On May 23, 2023, Pope Francis named Ruperto Santos as the fifth Bishop of Antipolo to succeed Francisco Mendoza de Leon who reached the retirement age of 75. Santos became the diocese's fifth bishop upon his installation on July 22, 2023.

Ordinaries

Bishop			Period in Office	Coat of Arms
1.		Protacio Guevara Gungon	June 25, 1983 – October 18, 2001
2.		Crisostomo Ayson Yalung	December 3, 2001 – December 5, 2002
3.		Gabriel Villaruz Reyes	January 29, 2003 – September 9, 2016
4.		Francisco Mendoza de Leon	September 9, 2016 – July 22, 2023
5.		Ruperto Cruz Santos	July 22, 2023 – present

Auxiliary bishops

Bishop			Period in Office	Titular see	Coat of Arms	Notes
1.		Francisco Mendoza de Leon	June 27, 2007 – November 21, 2015	Boseta		Appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Antipolo
2.		Nolly C. Buco	July 10, 2018 – October 18, 2024	Gemellae in Byzacena		Appointed Bishop of Catarman

Vicars-General

• Rev. Msgr. Jose B. Cruz (1983–1986)
• Rev. Msgr. Mariano T. Balbago, Jr., ministering in the Archdiocese of Washington (1986–1999)
• Rev. Msgr. Rigoberto S. de Guzman (1999–2018)
• Most Rev. Francisco M. de Leon, D.D. (2007–2016)
• Rev. Msgr. Generoso A. Mediarito (2018–present)
• Most Rev. Nolly C. Buco, JCD, D.D. (2018–2025)

See also

• Catholic Church in the Philippines
• John Paul II Minor Seminary
• Diocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Joseph

External links

• Media related to Roman Catholic Diocese of Antipolo at Wikimedia Commons
• Dioecesis Antipolensis Catholic-Hierarchy.org